One of seven Park visitor centers, the Bowles House sits along an empty canal bed in Hancock.
Preserving America's early transportation history, the C&O Canal began as a dream of passage to Western wealth. Operating for nearly 100 years the canal was a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, and agricultural products floated down the waterway to market. Today it endures as a pathway for discovering historical, natural, and recreational treasures.
The National Park Service will begin construction on a new stairway connecting the Goodloe Byron Memorial Footbridge (Byron Bridge) to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park towpath at mile 60.6.